Playing hearts
by Edesina
Summary: Minko can't confess to Tohru, and Yuina is sure that the one she has crush on, will reject her. When Ohana suggests that they start dating someone else to make their crushes jealous… well, that can't end well, can it? Yuina/Minko, Minko/Tohru
1. Chapter 1

**Fandom**: Hanasaku Iroha  
><strong>Author<strong>: Me, Ed  
><strong>Rating<strong>: Currently K+

**Pairings**: Yuina/Minko (Minko/Tohru, Yuina/Yosuke and Yuina/? as side pairings)  
><strong>Genre<strong>: Romance, angst and drama  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Hanairo and its characters belong to PA works, not me. Cursived lyrics aren't mine either (check A/N)

**Summary:** Minko can't confess to Tohru, and Yuina is sure that the one she has crush on, will reject her. When Ohana suggests that they start dating someone else to make their crushes jealous… well, that can't end well, can it?  
><strong>AN:** I found a song called "_In front of people"_ (Ihmisten edessä) by Jenni Vartiainen from Youtube. That Finnish song with English lyrics gave idea to this.

-x-

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><p><strong>Minko's pov<strong>

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><p><em>They know nothing,<em>  
><em>they don't belong to this story<em>  
><em>That is read to a few <em>

What have we done? I grab Yuina's hand and hope that she can give me courage to do this. It's for Tohru anyway. I need to see if he gets jealous _(if he likes me)._

"Ready?" Yuina whispers and squeezes my hand gently. She's not using a fake accent so I take that she's nervous too.

"Never, but-" I whisper and look at her. She smiles at me and touches gently my lips with her forefinger. If I continued, I'd _lick_ her finger. The thought causes me to blush, I'm sure of it, but it's okay because she's blushing too. This is just too weird.

"Let's go!" Yuina leads the way slowly, her fingers are still intervened with mine as we head towards the city.

The road is dark and I lean towards Yuina. I'm tired, scared and angry. I think I just made the worst mistake in my life and Tohru will hate me eternity if he finds out – and he will. Stupid, idiotic, _balut _Ohana.

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><p><strong>Xx-Playing hearts-xX<br>**_- how it all started-_

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><p>"So, Yuina, why do you always turn down boys? Is it because of Yosuke?" Ohana asked curiously. The two most popular girls in her class never accepted an invitation. Ohana knew that Minko had crush on Tohru, God knows why.<p>

"Hmm, well, it's not related to Yosuke…" Yuina began using Okinawa dialect and noticed that Minko and Nako did their best to not look interested although they were clearly listening. "That's because I have someone I like."

"I thought that you were engaged to that man?" Minko muttered bitterly without looking up. She was reading a book and turned page.

"And? He can date anyone he likes and so can I," Yuina replied sadly. "It's not like we want to…"

"Ignore everyone else?" Ohana offered shyly and Yuina nodded.

"Unlike certain someone," Yuina teased and snuggled Minko, who blushed furiously and tried to escape before Yuina's fingers found a ticklish spot just under her ribs.

"It's not… like you're… dating, uh someone!" Minko shrieked under Yuina's relentless attack. That stopped Yuina, who looked surprisingly hurt for some reason.

"As if I'd confess just to get rejected," Yuina muttered, former Okinawa dialect long forgotten.

"Yeah, me too," Minko sighed and got up.

"How do you know that?"

"Eh?" girls asked in unison and looked at Nako, who looked slightly furious and angry Nako was scary. Minko grabbed Yuina's hand and squeezed it.

"How do you know that they would reject you? You haven't told them how you feel, and right now you're just scared," Nako continued.

"But…" Minko started but never finished her sentence.

"I know, act like you're dating someone and make them jealous!"

The girls glanced at each other. It actually sounded good.

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><p><strong>AN2**: Comments? Is it worth to continue?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Okay, here's the next part. I'll post shorter chapters so the time between updates won't hopefully be extremely long although I probably won't post on next week. Thanks for reviewing everyone! :)

**ShadowKittenMewFan**: I'll try my best. :) Thanks!

**MOeMoE KaGAmI**: Whee! I drink cocoa while writing this :) Yeah, Nako has to be angry sometimes because she's less... well, quiet, and shows that she's good with advice and sharp. The girls won't see how good Ohana's advice really is until much later.

**Karepan**: I think the girls look cute together although after ep. 20 Nako/Yuina could be also possible.

**Mattie**: Glad to hear. I don't tend to leave stories unfinished although updating may take a while.

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><p>For the first time in weeks Minko didn't have to rush back to the inn like Ohana and Nako had. She had a lot in her mind, thanks to Ohana. More she thought of the plan the better it sounded. If she dated someone, Tohru would be either jealous or not affected at all. Although she hoped for the first, the truth was more than enough. She was tired of being unsure.<p>

Did Tohru want something more when he helped her or defended her actions? Or was it just plain friendship? And then… she'd have to ask someone or accept next invitation. She would prefer the latter… or actually neither. Playing with people's feelings sounded really cruel.

"Soo, Minchi, what'cha thinkin'?" Minko turned around to face Yuina who smiled genuinely. Yuina never seemed to fake a smile. The brunette was rarely serious and never sad. It was weird actually and Minko suspected that it was just an act. She just didn't know where the act began and where it ended.

"What's today's dialect?" Minko avoided the original question. She wasn't ready to tell her problems to Yuina. At least not yet.

"Osaka." Was the short reply and Yuina looked at her mischievously before continuing without fake-accent: "so, you're not rushing back to inn?"

"Not today. My shift starts at six o'clock," Minko said and started walking to the city. She wanted to visit a bookstore to find something new to read. Maybe a sappy romance novel. She had become quite fond of western novels and she had heard that Jane Austen was good. Maybe she should give it a try.

"I see. Say, wanna hang out a little?" Yuina asked shyly.

"I don't see any reason to decline." Yuina's face lit up, _literally_. Minko frowned. She didn't want to seem friendly. She had a reputation to live up to. "It's not like I have better to do or anything."

Yuina laughed delightfully. "Then, may I offer a cup of coffee. Maybe that'd break your cold attitude, ice-princess."

"Fine, whatever," Minko replied indifferently. _'Is she a masochist or something? And I can't go to the bookstore if she's around. I mean, she'd laugh at me and my favorite books. Well, I can survive a couple of days without a book…'_

"Then, let's go!"

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><p>-x-<p>

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><p>The café was quite full but they managed to find an empty table. Yuina went to buy them drinks; coffee for Minko and cherry tea for her. Yuina brought them to the table and was glad that they weren't in the middle of everything. Minko seemed uncomfortable enough.<p>

Minko was really nervous. She had never been the one to sit in cafes with her friends. She had never had many friends to begin with and even less someone to spend time outside the school grounds. Ohana was her roomie so she had no choice but if she had, she wouldn't see the girl more than she had to.

Nako… was Nako. A shy girl who said pretty much nothing. Minko knew only a little about Nako and she didn't ask. She simple wasn't interested in other human beings, which was the reason why her feelings towards certain chef were so confusing. She wanted to be noticed by him, talk to him, maybe even kiss him.

Yuina was the other popular girl in the school. She was loved by everyone, even by die-hard Minko-fans. Yes, she knew that she had fans but she ignored them just like she ignored pretty much everyone else. Yuina was complete opposite of her and the brunette socialized with those fans of hers. She spoke weird dialects just for fun and smiled a lot. Last semester she'd have called Yuina 'air-head' but now she had became somewhat acquaintances with her and seen few times behind Yuina's mask.

"So…" the brunette began and sipped her tea. "Are you going to do as Ohana suggested?"

"Eh?" Minko choked her coffee_. _That devil, Minko thought, wanted to know whom she'd be dating in order to make Tohru jealous.

"You know, date someone?" Yuina looked outside. The weather had turned quite windy. Just a little more and it'd rain. Minko had tasted the rain in the air in the morning so she had umbrella but in that wind it'd be as good as lighter. She'd get soaked.

"I hope it won't rain." Yuina hadn't brought even umbrella. She looked slightly depressed before turning her attention back to Minko. "So? Takeda-kun? Or Aogi-kun? They both are members of your fan-club so I'm sure that they would be more than happy to oblige…"

"I don't know," Minko said flatly. They were in the same boat so she could tell Yuina that much.

"But… do you think that it's mean? They like us and we're just using them…" Yuina looked at her looking lost and scared. Maybe, just maybe, Yuina wasn't as experienced as she acted.

"So you think that way too?"

"Yeah…" Yuina looked at her tea and Minko turned her gaze at her own black coffee. It was cruel, wasn't it? But then, what else could she do?

The silence between them was semi-uncomfortable. They were too busy with their thoughts to pay attention to such a detail. Tea and coffee were turning slowly cold, not that either of them minded.

The rain had started and enormous and heave droplets had watered the road before they said anything. Minko had been staring the road, which was now full of cold, wet mines, also known as puddles. It was relaxing, just to sit there and watch how the drops fell on the ground. The voice was also soothing and for a moment Minko thought that she might fall asleep.

"So, um… wanna date me?" Yuina blushed furiously and refused to look at dumbfounded Minko.

"Wh-what?" Minko's cheeks had reddish color as well and people nearby looked at them before their existence was quickly forgotten. Just two high school girls and their good-for-nothing drama, was the general opinion.

"I, I mean that… dating someone I don't like is mean… and since we both know the truth and all." Yuina seemed to shrink as she spoke. Even her voice became quieter until it was just a whisper.

"Uhh… but we're girls. Can two girls even do that?" Minko gulped.

"Of course. It's just for show," Yuina persuaded and giggled happily when Minko nodded thoughtfully. Yuina gave her precious, needed time to think.

"Okay… then," Minko agreed after thinking it through. Yuina was already aware of her plan and this way she didn't have to ask a boy out. Boy, of course, she wouldn't ask a girl, that'd be weird. Yuina was okay and well, Minko didn't have to worry that she might actually start liking her date.

"Great!"

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><p><em>In the next chapter is "the first kiss", because that's what a couples do, right? :)<em>


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Okay, I'm a bit late of my planned weekly update but I had a visitor from China and we had all kinds of activities... Anyway, here's the next chapter!

Thanks for reviewing!

**ShadowKittenMewFan** - Thanks :) Yuina is one of my favourites so her "accents" come naturally. I can't fake Japanese accents as I don't speak Japanese but I have learnt few English accents in school.

**Mattie** - Glad you think that Yuina asking Minko was cute. ^^

**MOeMoE KaGAmI - **I try not to spoil the later parts of the anime. This won't follow the story line, anyway and I won't focus on Nako, at least not yet. The "first kiss" is here but Tohru's reaction won't come yet.

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><p>"Aww, man, it's pouring," Yuina sighed. "And I didn't even bring an umbrella."<p>

Minko stole a stealthy glance of her companion and eyed the road towards Kissuisho. She wasn't sure if Yuina had planted this idea of hers in her head. "I have an umbrella with me… If you want, we could walk together to Fukuya."

"Really?" Yuina seemed pleased, which caused Minko to think that she had walked into a trap. Maybe Yuina had planned this whole mess? But that couldn't be true, could it? Why would she do that?

"Yeah, so let's go. I need to change before my shift starts too," Minko said pretending to be cold and stood up. She didn't look over her shoulder to see if Yuina followed her. She had no need to rush but she didn't want to spend more time with Yuina either. Minko hated the feeling that she had been played as fool.

They walked outside and Minko opened her umbrella sighing as Yuina grabbed her arm like a lovey-dovey couples would. Ugh, maybe they should make some rules. Minko made a mental note to talk about that with Yuina tomorrow (so she'd have time to list things she didn't want to do).

They walked in silence that was far from comfortable at least for Minko. The dark-haired girl noticed the looks people shot at them. She also heard whispers but then what could have she expected? Yuina had grabbed her arm and was so close that she felt the heat of Yuina's body.

"What'cha thinkin'?" Yuina moved a strand of Minko's dark hair out of the way and breathed the question in her ear and Minko almost jumped out of her skin. Her skin was tingling under Yuina's fingers.

"People are staring us," the dark-haired girl said calmly. She was partly used to it; the ice queen had to learn to ignore her classmates or otherwise she'd have gone nuts.

"So? Let 'em stare," Yuina whispered in her ear. Minko flinched away but didn't snap at her like Yuina had assumed.

They walked in silence. It was kind of awkward because they wanted to talk but neither knew how to start. Minko opened her mouth a couple of times but always closed it and the silence became deeper. Minko had yet to completely realize what she had agreed to. In a sense she knew what playing dating Yuina meant but she didn't want to think about it. And what Tohru would say?

Fukuya Inn didn't tower in the distance too soon. Actually, even always so happy Yuina seemed relieved.

"I… well, see you tomorrow, I guess," Yuina said at the door, under the shed. She leaned closer and kissed Minko's cheek quickly. The chef-to-be blushed furiously and slapped her.

Yuina didn't move at all; she didn't touch her cheek nor look angry. She was more like petrified.

"What was that for?" Minko growled and stepped backwards. She jumped when the cold rain hit her again.

"Just a good bye kiss on the cheek," Yuina reassured, having regained control of her emotions. "Am I not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?"

"Yuina, this is not real!" Minko hissed angrily.

"True but we have to act like it is so get used to it," the brunette snapped suddenly. She turned over her heels. "See you tomorrow."

Minko stared the front door for a good time. She should run after Yuina and apologize but she would never do such a thing. It was Yuina's fault for being overly romantic. They were acting to make _boys _jealous for god sake! It wasn't real and never will be.

She woke up from her trance when a few leaves hit her hand, face, clothes. Wind had become stronger and ripped leaves from the trees. Minko shivered for two reasons when she heard a low growl. She was deadly afraid of thunder (although she hid the fact well) and she was also cold.

She put her umbrella in her bag and started running. She was already wet so getting soaked wouldn't bother her.

-x-

The kitchen shift had been hell. Tohru and Ren had both been mad at her because she had been five minutes late. They also had a group of German visitors and they had requested potatoes and something else for dinner. Minko had spent an hour peeling those potatoes before Ren had dismissed her.

Now she was lying on her bed. Thinking of the next day filled her with fear. She was ashamed for slapping Yuina and being unreasonable. Of course they had to act but… closeness freaked her out. She wasn't used to such a thing; she never hugged her friends or held hands. When Yuina had kissed her so suddenly, well, she reacted on instinct.

"Minchi, why are you sighing? Is it because of Nakochi's advice?" Ohana asked from the upper bed. Minko flushed. Was she so easy to read?

"Go to sleep, balut," Minko snorted in her usual rude way. Her self-defense mechanism had kicked in. She had missed that mechanism when Yuina had been with her.

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><p><strong>AN2**: Not maybe the first kiss you were thinking of? ;) Well, the girls will get there eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

**lord cow-cow:** Thanks for pointing that out. I have no idea why the beginning was repeated twice because the doc didn't have two beginnings. o.O Sorry for that.

**ShadowKittenMewFan**: I try not to write Minko similar as she is in latest eps. (Actually I think she's very OoC in lates anime episodes) and I'm delighted to hear that you like Yuina, because she's nice to write. Especially if I can use accents :)

**chromate:** I keep your advice in my mind. Thanks for that. Yuina's part will come a little later.

**cowpoo 84:** I try to update this weekly, and I will finish this. Oh, I had also my yuri goggles on and this pairing seemed cute. ^^

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><p>Minko was waiting in front of the oven and stared their breakfast fish inside. She was going to make them perfect today so Tohru would notice her. When the fish turned golden, she took them out and gave them a quick smile. Perfect!<p>

"Good morning, Minchi," Nako greeted when they sat together in the table. Ohana was there too, but Minko ignored her purposely. Because of the balut she'd have to apologize to Yuina later.

"Morning, Nako," Minko replied and finished quickly her breakfast. "Sorry, I have something to do this morning."

"With your date?" Nako asked innocently. Minko blushed furiously while Ohana, Tohru and Ren choked their food. Tomoe was able to smile like usually but even she was clearly surprised.

"So, Minko, you're dating someone? Who's the guy?" Tohru asked, surprised. Minko grinned inwardly. Maybe (hopefully) Tohru was jealous? Still Nako could have helped her with more discreet way because Nako could have done that easily. Ohana was about as thoughtful as a frog – she acted before thinking but Nako was the opposite. The shy girl was observer, someone who managed to hide her efforts because she didn't want to get any attention.

"Oh, that's a secret," Nako said before Minko could reply. "Now, see you in the school, right?"

"Right..." Minko agreed slowly and tried to figure out what Nako was planning now. There was no way that Nako would know about her and… Of course not! Anyway, she had to go if she wanted to catch Yuina before her admirers arrived.

-x-

"Since when Minko has been dating someone?" Tohru demanded the moment the chef-to-be had left. The door hadn't even fully closed yet.

"Oh, just a short time," Nako smiled sweetly and gave a warning look to Ohana when no one else was looking at her. _'Don't say anything. You know nothing of this okay?'_

"Bu-but who? I never thought that Minko would date someone. She... I mean..." Tohru struggled to find the words. After a while he gave up and sighed. "I never thought that she'd be interested in a boy."

"What do you mean?" Ohana blurted out at the same time as Nako said: "I think you have to ask directly her if you want to know."

"Yeah," Tohru sighed. "I guess I should. It's just so not like her…"

"Y- you think so?" Nako asked nervously faking a smile. She had noticed the hidden meaning in Tohru's voice and it didn't promise anything good. "A-anyway, we should go, Ohana."

"What did Tohru mean by that?" Ohana wondered aloud when they walked together past the Fukuya Inn and towards the school. "And I wonder if Yuina has gone already."

"I guess she has," Nako muttered quietly. She had no idea what to say. Minko probably didn't want to let Ohana know about her date. She hadn't told even to Nako about it yet. And maybe, Nako thought sadly, Minko wouldn't. Minko was too scared to open her heart because someone might break it.

_Just like Tohru had done to her._

_-x-_

Yuina had been alone in the morning but when their gazes met, Minko flushed and ran away. Yuina had smiled like nothing had happened, or worse, she had looked a little sad. That wasn't usual Yuina. She was the most popular girl because she was nice to everyone and smiled always. To boys, she was the warm neighbourhood girl while Minko was the rich bitch. Of course their roles and real life weren't the same.

Yuina didn't smile naturally because _Minko_ had been total arsehole yesterday and ruined everything. The first period was English, and Minko couldn't focus at all. Her eyes wandered to the brunette successor of Fukuya more often than Tamachi's, who was the president of the Yuina fan club.

The old teacher had said that they'd have an oral exam but no one had studied. The ringing bell saved Minko from answering to question about the religions of the world. Why would she know about Sikhism or – even more absurd – Shamanism? That was religion of the people in the far North, where was always snowy and sun didn't set in the summer and rise in the winter, where was a lot of snow and reindeers, bears and wolves were common.

Minko sighed in relief with few girls and boys who had also been spared. She was good at speaking English and oral exams would be easy but when the teacher and the rest of the class stared her, she forgot everything. What was she, five? She wasn't really shy like Nako and yet English exams were a pain. The teacher was strict old man who had never heard of patience and many students had to struggle to find words to answer his questions. To make his exams worse he demanded good reasoning.

Today Ohana had to explain why she was opposed to aborts. A boy named Takeda had to reveal that he was game addict when teacher asked if teens spent too much time in front of computer screen and Yuina had to tell about her thoughts of gay people. When Yuina referred them to non-straight, teacher had asked if she was gay.

"Even if I am, it shouldn't matter right now," had been Yuina's answer and judging by whispers, boys of their class were even more in love with her and paired her with girls.

"It would be awesome, I mean to see her and… let's say, Tsurugi, kissing," one of the boys whispered a bit too close to Minko. She glared at him. No fucking way.

"Yuina," Minko called after her fake girlfriend.

"_Now Tsurugi will confess her feelings to her," _a boy whispered. Perverts all of them.

"Ah, princess Minko," Yuina teased cheerfully but she was on her toes.

"I need to have a word with you without your fan club listening," Minko demanded. She knew that a group of boys were staring at them, the yuri-fan boy included. That made her even more nervous.

"Okay-dokey. Shall you lead the way?"

Minko nodded and headed towards the roof. It wasn't the most secret place but at least no one could listen to their conversation secretly. Minko swallowed once, twice. She had never been the one to apologize. Yet she owed at least that much to Yuina, who was helping her. Yeah, but Yuina had no right to kiss her _because their act was just an act._

"So?" Yuina asked when they got on the roof. She stared into distance, where the horizon and sky danced together. Here and there was less sky, more grey buildings and vice versa.

"I… I had no right to react like I did yesterday but you…" Minko breathed quickly out. She had to explain her actions, _had to_ so Yuina would understand.

"I was too straightforward, wasn't I?" Yuina laughed nervously and stepped closer to Minko who was frozen. Was Yuina going to touch her again? No way, that was too… Yuina sighed and continued: "I have no idea what we should do, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, I'm engaged to Yosuke, but we're like best friends. I haven't even gone on a date with him. It's not gonna work anyways. So… when I was with you yesterday, I had no idea what to do. I still don't know how I should act around you, Tsurugi-san," Yuina confessed. She smiled faintly to Minko.

"Uh…" Minko uttered. Her mind was screaming bloody murder. She had thought that she'd say quickly sorry and that's all.

"So… so, I'm trying to say that I'm sorry," Yuina whispered. "Do I – can I get second chance?"

'_She's apologizing although the roles should be opposite. I slapped her but she did nothing wrong. What should I do? Accept her apology and pretend that everything's fine? Argh, shit. I hate situations like this. Damn.'_

"Balut." Minko turned her back to Yuina. "I should be apologizing and now you ruined the mood."

"Does that mean that we're clear?" Yuina giggled nervously.

"Sure but I think we need rules. Can we meet quickly after school?" Minko asked. _'You're asking her out!'_ small voice laughed in her mind.

"Agreed," Yuina smiled to her. She looked unsure, maybe thinking of what to do. Her hand was mid-air, just few inches from Minko's face. She made up her mind and turned away.

"See ya after school, Tsurugi-san."


	5. Chapter 5

**lord cow-cow**, parle non France or something ^^ I hate oral exams and I have probably at least 2 orals coming soon -_- Oh, I'm honoured to hear that this fic is good enough to hook someone :)

**bcbb 1d5d**, hello! Thank you for commenting. Glad to hear that you like :)

-x-

**A/N**: If you don't speak Aussie (Australian English), I recommend that you look for aussie-english dictionary. Yuina calls it Sapporo but it is Aussie. There are few words that aren't quite the same as in American/British and I wish I could have used my Aussie favourite: ankle biter (child).

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><p>The last lesson was mathematics, which was one of Yuina's favourites. She liked her teacher, old and strict lady who really knew what she was talking about. Today's subject was Pythagorean theorem, old thing but they'd learn something called law of cosines and the teacher wanted to re-study old stuff for the next lesson.<p>

Yuina had really hard time focusing. She glanced at the clock at least twice in a minute so the lesson seemed to last forever. Minko wanted rules? Somehow that made everything much more complicated. Yuina had wished that they'd hang out normally, maybe kiss in strategic place and hold hands while walking to or from school.

The brunette hadn't lied when she had said that she wasn't used to dating. Her thing with Yosuke was complicated and as far as she knew, Yosuke was dating a hot businesswoman who lived in Tokyo and was a lot older.

Yuina, on the other hand, had dated a boy in her class. The relationship had lasted about a week because the boy wasn't realistic enough. They were in high school and yet the boy, Shinichi, had been planning future.

Then Yuina had met a shy girl in drama club. She had frequently visited the club for a month and in the end the girl had confessed to her. They had met few times before the girl left Yuina, who was upset. Why the girl had left her without an explanation? Yuina had agreed to try the relationship although she didn't really like the girl and soon she was left behind.

Dryly Yuina imagined what kind of catastrophe would end her thing with Minko. They weren't really dating so she had no idea what to say if someone asked. Maybe Minko would get her happy ending and leave Yuina, what, heartbroken? Hardly. Alone and lost? Without a doubt. Bitter? Maybe.

Yuina had never dated someone she really liked – maybe even had a crush on – because she knew that they'd end up in tears. Even in her short and very horrible relationships she had sensed the ghost of Yosuke if she let her engagement to slip. Minko was first who didn't care, but then, Minko wasn't probably even into girls. The raven haired girl hadn't said that gay relationships were disgusting but she hasn't been fond of the idea of fake-dating Yuina either.

If there was a God or Goddess of even The Sea Cucumber of Existence, he, she or it clearly hated Yuina. What good might this act with Minko probably do to her? Yuina wasn't sure that she could confess her feelings even if her crush was clearly jealous.

-x-

"Is this a date?" Yuina asked after they had left the school grounds and suspicious gossip girls who seemed to watch every single move and hear everything that was said in the school grounds.

"Define date," Minko replied.

"Y'know what I meant," Yuina replied dryly as they walked towards the station.

"I have to go straight to Kissuiso," Minko explained just as dryly.

"Which means that I have to persuade you to start waggin' school if I want to go on a date with ya," Yuina sighed. To her surprise Minko smiled.

"I bet people would soon realize what we're doing and…" Minko thought a moment, "Start making furphies, right? I mean false rumours."

"Ya have a knack for chattin' Sapporo?" Yuina exclaimed, surprised. No one she knew of had been able to speak the dialect that teens spoke near Sapporo, northern Japan.

"My aunt and her daughter lives there but don't even dare to think that I'd speak that dialect aloud," Minko warned seriously.

"Really? That's cool!" Yuina said enthusiastically. "Is she still an ankle-biter?"

"No, she's older than me," Minko replied. She found Yuina's passion for accents actually interesting.

"Anygays, the rules?" Like most of the people, Minko looked uneasy when Yuina let the word "gay" slip into conversation sneakily. The cook to be appeared calm and collected.

"No PDA without asking me first, no questions about anything or requirements and when one of us wants to end the whole thing, it ends," Minko listed like saying all of them quickly made the meaning of the words less scary.

"So are we cobbers or something else?" Yuina asked. She cursed her lack of luck when she saw the Fukuya Inn.

"Maybe friends – cobbers – if you wish to speak Sapp," Minko said slowly. They were getting closer to the gate of Fukuya. "Anything else?"

"You bet I have! Can I kiss you without you hitting me?" Yuina asked innocently and winked to Minko. "I don't mind you hittin' on me, though."

"Yuina!" Minko blushed furiously but didn't do anything.

"That's my name, dear," Yuina purred cheerfully and leaned closer as if she was about to kiss Minko, but only brushed the cook's cheek with her cold fingers. Still, that was enough to make Minko lose her mental calmness.

"I… what… the rule…" the dark haired girl stuttered without finding words to complete even a simple paragraph.

"Am I allowed to kiss you?" Yuina asked again and pressed Minko against the wall of Fukuya. Yuina hadn't agreed to rules yet so Minko couldn't (or actually could) be as mad as cut snake.

"N-n-now or la-ter?" Minko gasped when Yuina pressed her body against Minko's. She had to make clear what she wanted from the relationship now or remain quiet. The pick wasn't too hard.

"Both," Yuina whispered in Minko's ear. She had always wanted to do that to someone. If she had caught someone less chaste, she'd have bit Minko's ear gently. Maybe she could try that later.

Yuina made sure that her lips were just a whisper away from Minko's. If she blew gently, Minko felt that and licked her lips. The girl was either nervous or expecting a kiss… Or both. Probably both. Yuina really wanted to kiss her. Her voice of reason reminded that they were just friends but she ignored it. Right now she was predator and Minko was prey.

"Y-yes," the cook breathed out without meeting Yuina's eyes.

-x-

Tohru had never seen Minko in such state. The young chef-in-training sleepwalked through her shift. She didn't utter a word when Ren ordered her to chop onions and fry them nor when Tohru complimented her. Complimenting had been Tohru's last resort because usually Minko blushed and became quite angry. Maybe Minko didn't like compliments.

"Tohru, what do you think happened to her?" Ren asked when Minko had left to change.

"No idea," the younger chef answered and scratched his head. "Nako said that she has someone, though."

"Do you think she's in love with the guy?" Ren raised his left eyebrow and looked serious.

"I…" Tohru began but he didn't continue immediately. When he continued, he seemed really unsure. "I'm not sure if this "being in love" is something others can see just like that. Besides… I dunno, Minko isn't the type to fall in love, I guess? I mean she's rational, not emotional and…"

"Love isn't rational, keep that in mind, Tohru," Ren advised the young man.

"You think so?" Tohru asked curiously. "I bet you have one or million stories to tell…"

"How about you and Fukuya Inn's successor?" Ren countered. Tohru looked surprised and shrugged.

"Yuina? We're just friends. I wanted more but she refused saying that she has someone she likes," Tohru confessed. "So, I kinda got rejected."

"I see." Ren nodded. "Well, let's get back to work. And wash your hands before touching anything!"

"Yea, yea," Tohru muttered.

Neither of men saw a character, hidden in the shadow, who had been listening to their conversation.

* * *

><p><span>Coming next:<span>

_"Minchi, did Tohru say something nice?"_  
><em>"Eh?"<em>  
><em>"I have never seen you this misty eyed so I thought..."<em>  
><em>"Balut!"<em>  
><em>"What are you writing?"<em>


	6. Chapter 6

**ShadowKittenMewFan,** I'll do my best to help Minko to get back to the good side. I like writing slang, because then I learn the words too. Oh, yeah, I think Yuina has good influence on Minko.

**lord cow-cow**, nice to hear that you like that I reply to reviews. It's a habit of mine and I think that if someone reviews, it's polite to reply. At least say thanks. ^^ It doesn't sound odd to me because I'm always annoyed if I write a good review and the writer ignores me. I tell you secret: I don't speak Aussie either ^^

I'm not in the rush so this story will not go fast, I hope. Sea cucumbers are awesome ^^

**bcbb1d5d**, wow, so much love! I'm extremely happy to hear that someone likes this that much. Yes, they kissed but I wanted to leave it out that time.

_Okay, finally a new chapter. Well, took too long, I think. Excuse: I participated in a writing contest and DL was on last week. Max. amount of text was 12, I wrote 10._

* * *

><p>A kiss. Minko couldn't believe it. She and Yuina had kissed. It wasn't just a quick peck, not a "real" kiss. It had been almost over before Minko had realized what Yuina had done. And actually, it hadn't been horrible. The young chef-to-be was rather happy. Her first kiss hadn't been a complete fiasco and practicing before the real thing was good idea. Minko didn't want to embarrass herself if, when, she was going to kiss Tohru.<p>

The door clicked open, and then closed but Minko didn't react at all. She was staring at the bottom of Ohana's bed and rustles, steps, she didn't really recognize any sounds. Maybe she was used to them, maybe her mind was too full of thoughts.

"Minchi, did Tohru say something nice?" Ohana asked but Minko didn't reply. She hadn't even heard the girl.

When could she actually confess to Tohru and how was she supposed to know if he was jealous? She didn't actually talk about her private life with the man or anything. They never hung out together and she couldn't just go and say something like "I'm dating Yuina, by the way." No, that was too obvious and… What if Tohru thought she was into girls?

"Minchi?" This time Ohana's voice was sharper, slightly annoyed.

"What?" Minko rose to sit and hit her head on the bottom of Ohana's bed. "Owch!"

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think I'm made of? Porcelain? Of course I'm okay," Minko replied and quickly hugged her knees so that she wouldn't touch her head. It had hurt but she didn't want to show it. She was stronger than that.

"Ah, sorry…" Ohana seemed slightly uneasy and stared at her.

"So what did you ask?" The raven-haired girl asked. She knew that she sounded rude but that shouldn't be surprise to Balut.

"Did Tohru say something nice today?"

"Eh?" Minko blinked in surprise. _'Don't blush, don't blush, don't you dare to blush!'_

"I have never seen you this misty eyed so I thought..." Ohana started but the death-glare Minko shot at her was more than enough. Ohana seemed to shrink.

"Balut!" Minko shouted and turned around, which was not as easy as in movies or in anime.

* * *

><p>-x-<p>

* * *

><p>In the next morning Tohru saw a man sitting outside the inn's back door. Jiromaru was writing quickly something on a piece of paper. His lips formed words but nothing was heard.<p>

"Mornin'! What are you writing?" Tohru greeted and grinned inwardly as the man jumped a little.

"Ah, morning," the older man answered and put the paper in his pocket. He didn't try to hide the fact that he had been writing, he just acted like it was nothing. "I just got a huge idea for a best-seller thriller, where the main protagonist is half-machine and half-human."

"So you were writing adult themes, right?" Tohru cut in. "Geez, it's not like we don't know about it. And guess what? No one cares. Actually, I think that Ohana will read your draft so she can say it's good."

Jiromaru laughed nervously. "I hope not…"

"Is it about her?" Tohru demanded and put his helmet on the saddle of his motorbike.

"Oh, no, it's about your lovely chef-to-be an-" Jiromaru paled and slapped hand on his mouth. He shouldn't have told that. No way, if Tohru let him live, the raven-haired girl wouldn't. Oh no, that girl had temperament of a devil and romanticism of a goat but the latter wasn't really important thing unless he was writing about the girl. Not that he was anyway…

"About Minko?" Tohru walked closer and grabbed Jiromaru's goat before the writer managed to escape. Tohru pulled out the paper and skimmed it quickly. He looked… well, Jiromaru noticed that the chef wasn't going to kill him soon.

"The other girl is Yuina? Do I want to know what kind of logic you use to make these pairings?" Tohru exclaimed. He looked maybe a little amused.

"Didn't you know?"

"Know what?" Tohru furrowed and Jiromaru swallowed. He couldn't make up a good lie to get out of the situation and maybe… No, Tohru would be mad.

"Your apprentice kissed the Fukuya inn's successor."

* * *

><p>-x-<p>

* * *

><p>Tohru had seem to be in foul mood the whole morning and it was annoying her a lot. Why she had to greet the Saturday morning by dealing with irritating and angry chef who took his anger out on her? Ohana was used to Tohru's teasing but today it was different – Tohru tried to hurt her and she had had enough of it.<p>

"Thanks for the food. I'm going to check to pool," Ohana announced and got up. She almost fell down when she walked past Tohru. He had tried to trip her!

"Be sure to not trip and fall into the pool," Tohru teased and Ohana froze. She was in lower position and younger than the chef. Minko would be mad at her. Madame Manager would scold her. All the reasons didn't stop her.

"What the heck is your problem? You've been acting like a total jerk the whole morning!"

Tohru looked at her angrily and the others gasped as one. Minko didn't defend him, Ohana noticed dryly. So, even the raven-haired girl agreed.

"What's wrong with me? You're the one who is stumbling around and yet you blame me?" The chef countered.

"You tried to trip her," Minko said calmly and sipped her tea.

"Shut up, dyke!"

-x-


	7. Chapter 7

lord cow-cow - he's just a little upset, I think. There will be plenty of drama in next chapters :)

MOeMoE KaGAmI - he's going to try, though ^^

ShadowKittenMewFan - sorry for short chapter, this one is longer...

Robin4Life - dunno, bad luck? Anyway, the next chapter is Tohru's. I hope it answers to some of your questions.

bcbb1d5d - better late than never I think?

ArmorBlade - I try to improve my grammar. I know I have a lot to improve but I'm glad to hear that you liked this despite the flaws.

love your fanfic don't stop - oh my, your review left me speechless. I'm not going to give up this, I just needed time to focus on my school.

shamanic demonator - the anime is pure love. I didn't stop and I won't give up before I have finished this fic.

* * *

><p><em>I'm terribly sorry about the delay. I never thought that last highschool period would be so horrible and right after that I had the finals. Now I have left only my graduation essay and that's almost done. Anyway, now I should have time to write this again unless teachers decide that our class has to do everything because we have only few weeks left. Today's word is Scottish. Translations are at the end of the chapter. <em>

_Huge thank you and virtual hug to everyone who has reviewed._

* * *

><p>"<em>Shut up, dyke!"<em>

Tohru examined Minko's reaction closely. He hadn't meant to say that but it was no use to cry over spilled milk. The young apprentice paled and opened her mouth without saying anything. She seemed stunned, maybe confused when she turned to him. Tohru saw how she counted slowly to ten - her lips were forming the soundless words. Minko counted to ten only when she was ready to explode.

"What do you mean?" Minko asked finally. Everyone's eyes were focused on her, and Tohru knew it made her uncomfortable because she sounded calm and angry. Minko was angry – not annoyed like when Ohana messed up – only when she was protecting her inner self.

Tohru had known the girl long enough to notice many little details. He had always been watching the girl. At first it was to make sure that Minko did everything correctly but lately he had been trying to figure out what kind of girl Minko really was. She was like a puzzle, more complicated than Nako or Ohana. Minko was like Madam Manager. They both did the last thing he expected them to do.

"A little bird told that you have the hots for a certain classmate of yours," Tohru pressed on. He had to know the truth for Minko's sake. Tohru liked her a lot, she was one of the most determined persons he had ever met and he respected her. And to be honest, he was a little jealous. What if Minko gave up on cooking for Yuina's sake? Tohru hated days when Minko didn't have a shift. Even if those days were rare and far-between. The kitchen felt so lonely without Minko.

"Ah, I see," Minko said, and she relaxed a little. Yet she chose her next words carefully: "Your little bird must have made a mistake. I. Am. Not. Like. That."

"I see, sorry then," Tohru muttered and got up. He slammed the door behind him and walked to backdoor. He sat there and stared the horizon. Minko had been quite passionate, yet she hadn't shouted or lost her temper like she usually did. This time she had been really hurt and angry. And angry Minko was difficult to deal with. Damn that perverted lesbian porn writer. If he saw Jiromaru, he'd give him a piece of his mind. It was Jiromaru's fault.

"You seem quite troubled, boy."

Tohru turned his head a little. Ren stood on his right and took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. Tohru glanced at the thing. He didn't approve that Ren had taken up smoking as it wasn't hygienic. Yet many cooks Tohru had met smoked continuously. It helped, they said, but Tohru didn't believe it. Although the kitchen was damn hot and he had to rush and he was dead tired after some days, he had never found his profession stressful. He loved to cook just as Ren did.

"I guess I went a little overboard…" Tohru muttered feeling slightly guilty and more embarrassed. "I should have accepted her even if she's… well, like that, you know. I just care about her so much. What if she gets hurt? That'd be awful."

_Yeah, were smooth, you can't even ay the l-word aloud…_ small voice commented dryly in Tohru's mind. Usually that voice sounded exactly like his mother.

"Well, you both are still young. It's only natural that you make mistakes," Ren said looking into distance.

"I guess…" Tohru muttered and looked at his feet.

"You know what to do when you've made a mistake, right?" Ren continued, still looking at the horizon. Did he see something Tohru didn't? Probably, Ren always seemed to know things that he didn't.

"Yea…" Tohru sighed. He couldn't undo what had happened but… That's right; he should apologize and explain that he had been surprised. Tohru turned to Ren. "When will she be back?"

"What kind of man are you?" Ren laughed. "Go to her and apologize."

"But…"

"No buts. Go to her and tell what you told me. She needs to know it," Ren ordered. "I can handle cooking, you know."

"I know," Tohru said and meant it. It wasn't busy today and Ren was really excellent cook. He could handle the situation perfectly without him. A small part of Tohru wasn't thrilled about that but he ignored it. Ren was the best.

"Good. Now go."

Tohru nodded and got up. He was sitting on his bike when Ren opened his mouth again. Tohru looked at him curiously, maybe last piece of advice? He needed every piece he could get.

"Good luck, my boy," Ren said and dumped his cigarette. "Don't rush back. She deserves full explanation."

"Yeah, I was an idiot, wasn't I?" Tohru laughed. "And that was rhetoric."

-x-

Nako was waiting for Ohana outside the inn. She was carrying two bags. The other was probably Minko's who had left right after Tohru's final insult. Ohana understood her well; being called a dyke was quite a shock. Ohana wondered what she'd feel if Ko-kun called her gay. Would she be able to act like nothing happened? Ohana had heard some of her classmates whispering nervously about their sexuality. What if Minko wasn't sure about hers? Ohana traded a glance with Nako but neither of them said anything.

They walked to the Fukuya inn in silence. Ohana wanted to say anything, ask Nako's thoughts or anything. Yet she couldn't utter a word. It didn't feel right, and words just kept avoiding her. Minko was probably mad and would be. Maybe they should run after her. It would be horrible if Minko was angry the whole day. The whole class would suffer from that.

Meeting Yuina was a relief although the girl noticed that something was wrong.

"Guid mornin lassies. Hou's aw wi ye?" Yuina greeted. Ohana frowned and wondered if Nako had understood that. Sometimes – when she didn't understand anything – she disliked Yuina's fondness of accents. On a normal day she didn't understand why Yuina faked accents. Was it really fun or even worth practicing different words and dialects? Ohana knew that she'd never ask that, of course.

"Morning Yuina," Nako said, "Minko and Tohru had a fight so we have been better. An ye?"

"You understood what she said?" Ohana whispered. She was slightly amused. Nako was full of surprises. She should have got used to that already...

"Yeah, she asked how we are," Nako whispered back. She saw Ohana's expression and continued: "I have known her for quite a while and I have heard all of her accents. Today she's speaking Tokushima's slang but she'll give up before lunch break."

"Ah, whit an eejit thae laddie is. A'm fine, slainte," Yuina said. Ohana sighed and decided to ignore Yuina. After all, she couldn't understand a word and - if Nako was right - she was going to miss only a little. Nako, on the other hand, seemed to understand Yuina perfectly and even used the same weird words. Few times Yuina seemed to be confused but Ohana was sure that she was just imagining things. No one could confuse Yuina with dialects.

"So, Yuina, do you think that Minko is more like a besom or a stoater?" Ohana turned her attention back to the conversation when she heard Minko's name and saw how Yuina blushed and turned her head away.

"The latter," Yuina whispered shakily, she had dropped the accent. Nako chuckled.

"What did you say to her?" Ohana asked curiously.

"You can't tell her!" Yuina objected quickly.

"Why?" Nako and Ohana asked in unison. Ohana blinked few times when she realized that Nako was teasing Yuina. Nako, the shy Nakochi was teasing Yuina! The roles should be opposite. What had happened? Maybe the real Nako had been kidnapped by aliens?

"Will you talk to Minchi then?" Nako asked smiling innocently. Ohana was sure that those two were hiding something from her. Yuina seemed really relieved when Nako offered the deal. What Nako had asked? If facing angry Minchi was better than letting her know… Ohana made two mental notes. The first was to find out what Nako had said and the second was to not annoy Nako. Maybe the one who had said that "the quiet ones always surprise you" was right.

"Nako, ye're de'il."

"Is that yes?"

"Aye," Yuina sighed. "A'll talk to her afore lessons start so are ye gonny tell me whit exactly happened?"

"Tohru called her lesbian and she didn't take it well," Ohana said quickly. She was little happy because she had understood what Yuina had said. At least she thought that she had. "And I'm little worried about her."

"Okay. See ye efter!" Yuina said and ran off. Ohana wanted to go after her but she doubted that Minko would open to all three of them. So hopefully Nako had made the right decision by sending Yuina to her.

-x-

The roof was empty as usual. She didn't have to share it with staring people who thought that Ice Queen was perfect. She had her own problems despite what others were thinking. Well, usually her biggest problem was Tohru. It was today, too. Minko wasn't sure if he had been jealous or just... something. Angry, maybe. Would he date a girl he had called lesbian? She wasn't one. She liked him. So, there was no way she could be one. Minko had decided that she was a good, normal heterosexual. She had to if she wanted to stay in Kissuiso. Madame Manager was older generation and would never tolerate with a weird girl. So, there was no use thinking if she was gay or not. Minko had repeated that every time she had questioned herself.

_Stupid Tohru. He had to bring back those dangerous thoughts like how good-looking Yuina really was or how cute Ohana was if she wanted to be_, Minko thought bitterly. Or how Minko had panicked when she had thought that she had had a crush on Nako. Later she had realized that Nako was safe person to experiment her feelings because Nako was as straight as an arrow. (At least her rational part said that.)

Balut.

Minko had never thought about her sexuality seriously before that one word: _dyke_. She hadn't needed. No one had questioned her heterosexuality. Not seriously. Of course some horny boys paired her with Yuina because they thought that it'd be hot. Those boys were gross. But what if... What if the crush she had had on Nako was something more than a normal teenage crush? It made no sense, she had had the annoying crush on Tohru before and _during_ that nerve-breaking phase.

And Yuina… Their relationship was a fake, façade. Still, were they doing the right thing? What if she was offending Yuina somehow? The arrangement, as Minko liked to call their deal, was causing her a headache. She had never thought so many trivial things. This morning she had been staring mirror and wondering if she was pretty. She didn't need to look pretty for Yuina, that's for sure, but she didn't want to win Tohru by looks. He should like her for her personality.

Minko massaged her temples. _Great_, she thought, her head would explode because of the pain. She had slept less than four hours and it was affecting her already. Maybe she would skip few classes and stay at the nurse's office… But she couldn't do that. She was the Ice Queen; she really couldn't skip classes or show any kind of signs of weakness. She couldn't be confused about anything no matter what happened nor hurt if someone insulted her. She wasn't supposed to feel anything even when the other girls went to a cafe without her. And, most importantly, she wasn't supposed to cry.

_Damn_, she cursed quietly. She didn't like her nickname but it protected her. She wasn't really popular among her peers. Many boys didn't come and confess because they were afraid. She didn't have to turn down more than few boys a month.

Minko watched others. They didn't see her. She saw Yuina running through the school yard, few teachers parking their cars and Balut and Nako walking the street. Ohana's hair really stood out – she was like a firefly among ants. Maybe she should rule Nako and Yuina out. She hated bugs but didn't hate those two. She watched Yuina carefully, trying to clear what she was feeling.

Yuina was quite pretty. It was hard to see but Minko knew it. She wasn't blind, but she wasn't drooling either. Maybe she should make a chart... She looked around when it hit her: she had forgotten her bag. Maybe she should just skip the first class and go back to the inn instead. She hated mathematics and was failing the class as always but she didn't need to be able to solve geometricproblems.

Yuina had disappeared so she watched Nako and Ohana instead. Why was Nako carrying two bags by the way? The shy girl wasn't as pretty as Yuina but she had the quiet type girl -charm. _Yeah, right_, Minko thought dryly. She wasn't really interested in Nako that way so the thought was plainly absurd. Ohana was... well, balut. She was annoying, clumsy, stupid and so on. Minko felt tiny spark of anger boiling inside and stopped listing immediately. No need to add fuel to the fire. She was calming down. She didn't want to kill anything anymore.

"Hey."

Minko turned around slowly. She had recognized the voice, although it sounded alien without a weird accent. Yuina looked little nervous, she seemed rather interested in her nails. Minko used the chance and examined the girl closely. Yuina was cute with her cheeks flushed and hair a bit messed. Her breathing was little faster than usual, maybe she had been running.

"What's up?" Minko replied deciding to cut the small-talk. She wasn't in the right mood for useless chit-chat.

"I know about the morning," Yuina said slowly without faking an accent. She didn't raise her head, though, but watched Minko through her eyelashes.

Minko nodded but remained quiet. She didn't know what to say. Yuina wasn't supposed to know, Minko wasn't ready to face her, not when she was angry. What if she said something horrible? Yuina was nice and did not deserve to be insulted.

"Are you okay? I bet it was quite embarrassing situation..." Yuina mumbled and walked closer slowly and took Minko's hands in hers. She looked into Minko's eyes looking for approval or refusal.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The lie sounded lifeless in Minko's ears. She wasn't okay. She was hopelessly confused, angry and hurt. She wanted to cry but she really couldn't. She was always either in school, work or in her room with Ohana.

Yuina hugged her. She was about to protest - they weren't supposed to show any kind of affection, but it felt good. When Yuina whispered "it's okay" in her ear, she believed it. What was wrong with her?

"I'm going to kiss you, okay?" Yuina asked. Her hands were around Minko's waist and pulled her closer. Minko didn't object, she wanted someone to act like they cared for her, even if it was a lie.

"Oh, before I forget, I really do care about you. If you want to talk, I'll listen," Yuina mumbled against Minko's lips. Minko felt the breath tickling her lips and looked into the other girl's eyes. It was hard, as their noses almost touched. Minko swallowed and closed her eyes. She knew that Yuina was going to kiss her soon, she felt it. It was like a weak jolt of electricity that ran through her. She heard her heart beating faster. Did Yuina hear the sound too?

The kiss was nothing like before. Minko didn't even know that kiss could be so light. Their lips barely touched and it was over quickly. Her lips were tingling almost like Yuina was still kissing her. It was weird but lovely sensation. Their lips parted too soon but Minko didn't dare to kiss Yuina. She didn't know if second kiss would count as breaking rules.

"Why is he here?" Yuina whispered bitterly and pulled away. Minko followed her gaze. There was a dark-haired man parking a motorbike and running into school. Minko's heart skipped a beat. Tohru. What was he doing here? Did he come to make her feel even worse? If Tohru hurt her more, she'd cry. Minko just knew it.

"Walk me to him?" Minko pleaded. She didn't care that she sounded as desperate as she felt. Yuina took her hand and squeezed it gently. The hallways were empty, which meant that the first lesson had started without them. Well, that couldn't be helped.

"I'll be there for you, I promise."

"Thanks," Minko muttered. She kissed Yuina's cheek on impulse. They both blushed.

"What was that for?" Yuina squeaked. She seemed a bit shaken.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have..." Minko stammered quickly. She had broken the rules after all...

"It's okay, you just… surprised me" Yuina reassured quickly. "He's there."

* * *

><p><strong>Scottish – English dictionary <strong>

Guid mornin – good morning  
>Lassies – ladies<br>Hou's aw wi ye? – how are you  
>An ye – and you<br>whit an eejit thae laddie is – what an idiot that lad is  
>A'm – I'm<br>Afore - before  
>Slainte - thanks<br>Besom – a difficult woman  
>Stoater – a stunning woman<br>De'vil – devil  
>Aye - yes<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**lord cow-cow**: that was quite a wait. Sorry about that. Thanks for pointing that Ren part. Maybe aliens ate my brain coz I didn't notice that one. I edited it. I hope you can forgive Tohru a lot later because he'll do something good.

**bcbb1d5d:** I won't give up on this. Glad to hear that you like the story.

**cleonaya**: Tohru/Ohana? Well, I'm not the best writer because femslash is my forte

**Tomlong75210**: I hope it's a good thing that Minko is confused. At least she should be.

**yuuki yami:** don't worry. I won't abandon this.

_No accents today, sorry._

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

* * *

><p>Yuina walked circles in front of the main door. She was nervous as hell to be honest. She should have gone to the classroom but that would have been futile. She couldn't focus at all, not even on the beautiful morning. Oh, the irony. The prettiest day was going to be horrible. Minko was going to leave her for Tohru, she was sure of it. The lovely ice-queen had said that she wanted the guy. Yuina still didn't know why. Sure, Tohru had looks. He <em>is<em> hot but he's not… something. Yuina couldn't point the flaw but she knew that it was there somewhere.

She could see Minko and Tohru talking few meters away but those two couldn't see her. That was good – she didn't want to show any signs of nervousness in front of them. If she walked larger circles, she could hear the conversation but – and it was a bigger-than-bear- but – Minko had asked for privacy. Yuina respected that. (Tohru wouldn't have.)

She kicked imaginary rocks until she couldn't stand being near chefs. She wandered to a vending machine and scanned the drinks. Melon juice – too sweet. Coffee, maybe? No, like she needed more energy to walk around. Tea? She didn't like jasmine. Finally she bought a can of cold milk tea and held it tightly till her fingers were freezing cold.

She sat on a bench, looked around and relaxed. No one was near. She was all alone with her thoughts. She spotted a few empty cans near the bench. She could take her anger out on them. Later, a lot later. When Minko had come, broken up with her and gone to Tohru.

"Perfect," Yuina mumbled and leaned backwards. She liked to voice her thoughts. "That damn idiot _had to_ show some balls and come here. Now he's ruining every fucking thing. It's not fair! He insulted her. But who was there to support her? I was. _Who asked her out first? _I did. Even though it was fake date…"

-x-

"So, umm…" Tohru muttered. His gaze swept the area before finally set on Minko's face. He ran his hand through his black hair and tugged it gently. He was going to do this. "I- this morning… I… damn, this is hard but lemme ramble, okay?"

Minko nodded nervously. Tohru was nervous and it was affecting her. Besides she wasn't ready to face him. Her feelings were still in complete mess. A mixture of hurt, love (or maybe affection? She hadn't been in love before so she didn't know.) and fear. Tohru was to best person to hurt her. What if he was going to say that he didn't want to see a lesbian because it was disgusting? Though she wasn't one…

"I hope this has a point… But, first, I'm sorry. I was an asshole but, you know, it hurt. To think that you'd be with someone else… I –it forced me to admit that I was so jealous… I didn't want to believe it. I guess… what I want to say is that I have feelings for you, Minko. I really do. I just needed something to realize it."

Minko stared him incredulously. Tohru had feelings for her? For real? It felt surreal. Maybe they were in anime or manga?

"Minko, please, say something. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Tohru pleaded. Minko blinked few times. She had to gather her thoughts and make decisions (which had been made so long ago).

"It's okay, Tohru. I wanted to make you jealous. I wanted to see if you could ever like me," Minko explained. Yet, she felt like someone else was talking. She wasn't embarrassed, she didn't stutter or act. She just watched the anime in front of her eyes. It couldn't be real, right? Everything went too smoothly.

"So you have feelings for me?"

"Yes," Minko answered knowing that she had made a big de3cision without thinking pros and cons like she usually did. But this was her dream. Should she even hesitate? Should she blush when she talked about her feelings with Tohru?

"So… now that all's clear, wanna go out with me?" Tohru asked giving Minko his most charming smile.

Minko licked her lips and tried to swallow. She should break up with Yuina first but now was her chance. She had been waiting this god knows how long. She had adored Tohru from the beginning. Saying 'no' or thinking were out of question. She had to fry fish when the pan was hot. This was same kind of situation. She had to act right now.

"Sure."

-x-

Yuina never skipped biology. Never, literally. Nako didn't remember even a day when Yuina hadn't been sitting in the first row, taking notes feverishly and answering questions. It was her favourite subject. Even the teacher seemed surprised when his favourite student didn't say "here" when he said her name.

_Where are you? Sick?_ Nako texted quickly when the teacher wasn't looking. Luckily her phone was in soundless mode because Yuina's reply came in an instant.

_Kinda. Don't feel too well_.

_Class ends in five minutes. Where are you? I saw you in school in the morning._

_At vending machine._

Nako sighed. Minko had came in late and the girl seemed to be in heaven. In a heaven where was stormy, that is. Minko was happy and grumpy at the same time like something good had happened but also something that had left her confused.

Eventually the clock rang and Nako rose. She had packed in advance and was walking towards the vending machine before rest of the class had gotten out of the classroom. She saw Yuina sitting on the bench, surrounded by scrunched cans. Yuina had obviously been quite an upset. She still looked a bit zombie-like. She was staring into nothing without moving and inch.

"Hey, how are you?" Nako greeted cautiously.

"Like a shit," Yuina sighed tiredly. Nako sat next to her and squeezed the girl's hand. Yuina didn't usually swear.

"Do you want to tell what happened?"

"I think I'm in love," Yuina muttered and looked at the ceiling.

"With Minko?" Nako asked although she knew the answer.

"How did you know?"

"I know you, Yuina."

"Well, I guess I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Yuina laughed weakly. "She broke up with me to be with the prince charming. Maybe I agree to go out with Mikasa-kun…"

"You'll only hurt yourself," Nako protested and ignored the whole Tohru part. She didn't want to force Yuina to live that again after so little time.

"Nothing can be worse than this."

"You have made up your mind, haven't you?" Nako made sure.

"Yeah," Minko sighed and got up. She turned to Nako and gave the waitress her best cheerful act. Of course Nako knew that it was an act.

"Then I won't try to change your mind but… If you need a shoulder to cry on, mine is yours. Are we clear?"

Yuina smiled and let Nako pull her into a hug. The shy waitress was the best kind of friend and Yuina was glad that they were friends.

"Crystal clear."


	9. Chapter 9

****_Sorry, I don't have time to reply to everyone. I want to thank you all and I'm sorry for the mistakes. What comes to "the"s, I know I always forget them because my native (Finnish) doesn't have such things like articles. I'll try to remember that and also fix mistakes. Also I try to slower the pace. _

**Ch 9**

* * *

><p>Peeling radishes had never before been as pleasant task as today. Minko had taken three buckets outside because Ren-san and Tohru were literally running inside. Those two were really busy with the lunch preparations. Minko was ordered – as usual – to peel root vegetables.<p>

One bucket was filled with radishes, the second was for the skin and the last was for the peeled radishes. Minko grabbed the first, peeled it quickly and threw it into the right bucket. The next one had already lost some of its skin when the first one hit the bucket. Minko smiled. She had messed up only to gain attention. Soon she had got used to the work and she was able to let her thoughts wander.

It'd been a week already. Or maybe 'only' was better word for the situation. They had had two dates, and the speed was slightly (okay, seriously) uncomfortable. The first had been on Tuesday. They had seen a movie which had been okay. Minko wasn't fan of romantic drama but she didn't like Tohru's choice either. It had been a movie about racers. Minko didn't understand mechanics so long monologues about horsepower, engines and wheels had been all Greek to her.

The bigger problem was that they didn't talk. When they had met, Tohru had pulled her into a rough kiss instead of greeting her. Minko hadn't got enough experience to give detailed reasons why she disliked the kiss or even why it was 'rough', though. They had held hands and Minko had tried to ignore the fact that Tohru's grip had been too tight. She hadn't built enough courage to voice her thoughts and insecurities but she knew that she'd have to do it sooner or later.

"So, are you free tomorrow after the shift?" Tohru asked as she returned with peeled radishes. Ren-san pointed a box that was filled with potatoes. Minko nodded, which meant that she had understood the orders, although Ren-san had turned his back to her already. The man knew that she had understood.

"I…" Minko bit her lips. She wanted to study. Their teacher had hinted that they might have a random test on Monday. Besides she had always been an excellent student and she couldn't afford to lose her status.

"Kids, hurry up. You can chat later," Ren ordered strictly. The kitchen was not the place for planning dates. It was another thing that made Minko uncomfortable – Tohru was way too open about their relationship. It was a private thing and Minko had no interest to talk about it in front of Ren-san or anyone else.

"Y-yes, sir. Sorry." Minko fled quickly and returned to her spot. Hygienic or not, the stairs outside was currently the best place. Besides, someone washed vegetables before cooking them anyway.

"Minchi, fifteen minutes," Ohana informed as she rushed to the trash can. Minko looked up and nodded. She got up and carried the buckets back to kitchen.

"I have to go, Ren-san."

"Tohru can finish peeling the potatoes," Ren answered, typically he hadn't even looked at her. How had he known that she hadn't peeled all of them? Minko blushed and apologized before leaving quickly.

Although it was still early, the kitchen was hot and hallways were chilly compared to it. Minko shivered, she hated leaving warm kitchen but she disliked the heat especially if she had spent the whole day there. A couple of times she hadn't drunk enough so at the end of her shift she had been feeling rather dizzy.

"Minchi!" Ohana shouted from the outside. Minko swallowed a yawn. Lately she had been tired. She had Saturday completely free although Tohru didn't seem to know it. She was able to finish few things and catch up with her studies.

"Coming."

It looked like Ohana wanted to say something, but she remained silent. Minko was delighted. Ohana had been uncharacteristically curious about Tohru and hers relationship. It was something Minko was uncomfortable to talk with the other girl, mainly because Ohana wanted to know if her suggestion had been useful. Minko, on the other hand, avoided the subject as much as possible. She wasn't going to tell about her "dates" with Yuina. One horrible reaction had been more than enough.

They had to run to the train station. Minko felt bad, if she hadn't taken so much time, they hadn't had to.

"I heard that Tohru asked you out again," Ohana mentioned as the door closed, "what was your answer?"

"None of your business," Minko replied quickly.

"Aww, so you said yes?" Ohana continued cheerfully. The girl had picked up a habit of teasing her about her love-life. Ohana was genuinely curious, which made the matter worse; she asked a lot of questions. Answering was more pain than enduring teasing. (_Of course, _Ohana couldn't resist the urge to tease her all the time.)

"Why do you even care?"

"Because you're my friend and I'm worried about you!"

"Balut!"

Ohana looked hurt. Minko bit her lip regretfully after she had said the word. It was an instinct. She always did that, hurt people when they said something that embarrassed her. She stayed true to her character and didn't apologize. Last thing she needed was Ohana (or anyone else) thinking that she had changed because she hasn't. Being with Tohru hadn't changed her at all and assumptions that it had, annoyed her. How_ mere _love, crush or the like could change person? She fastened her pace.

"Don't worry," Nako said to Ohana when the brunette thought that Minko didn't hear anymore. She did but ignored it. She had currently a bigger problem – Yuina was waving at them in front of Fukuya Inn.

"Morning, Yuina," Minko greeted as casually as she could. Yuina made her nervous. It was surprisingly hard to be around her "ex-girlfriend". Somehow even mentioning Tohru felt wrong, like she was trying to boast or insult Yuina, which was not what she was doing.

"Mornin," Yuina replied yawning.

"Did you stay up too late?" Minko asked – it was her attempt to start normal converstation.

"Not really, I just could not sleep. I 'ave seen neegdzmares lately," Yuina explained with heavy and odd accent. Minko had to repeat few words again in her head before she understood what the other girl had said.

"Nightmares?"

"Oui, dzat eez vhat I said." Yuina grinned and Minko sighed. She hated today's accent already though she knew how to decipher it. "Morning Nako an' Ohana."

"Morning," the two girls said as they caught up with Minko and Yuina. Ohana continued: "What's today's accent? I haven't heard it before…"

"Eet eez secret," Yuina giggled, "aldzough Minko should know eet."

Both Ohana and Nako turned to the chef-to-be who shook her head. Minko had never heard it.

"I shall give you a 'int." Yuina winked and leaned closer to Minko. Minko felt her breath tickling her ear and neck when Yuina whispered something that others didn't hear. The raven-haired girl blushed slightly.

"It's French," Minko said curtly and didn't even look at Yuina. From the corner of her eye she saw Ohana snickering and whispering "What did she say?" to Nako. Minko was not going to say it aloud.

"I said-" Minko quickly covered Yuina's mouth. The other girl seemed amused.

"Not. A. Word." Minko growled in panic. Ohana and Nako had heard the rumour about her and Yuina.

"It's Yuina so she probably confessed her undying love for her," Nako commented calmly.

"Nako!" Yuina and Minko shouted, both blushing.

"So, she actually did?" Nako went on, surprised. Minko swallowed. Hard. She wasn't used to this teaser side of Nako. Had Nako been always like this or only recently?

"You are cruel," Yuina accused and pouted.

"You're easy to tease," Nako shot back playfully and slightly nervously as she had always been rather reserved around Ohana and Minko. "And we didn't even get to-"

"We 'ave to 'urry," Yuina muttered quickly and cut Nako off before the girl might reveal something she wasn't supposed to. "Ze train leaves in five minutes."

-x-

They arrived at the school a couple of minutes before the bell rang. First they had mathematics – the worst way to start the day in Ohana's opinion.

_I wonder what Yuina said to her_, was written on a note Nako passed her when the teacher was facing the chalkboard.

_She's been dozing off the whole lesson_, Ohana wrote back. It was true, Minko listened teachers always. But the girl had changed a bit in past weeks. Ohana had no idea what had happened on that one day. In the morning Tohru had called Minko lesbian and later they had been a couple. It was confusing. Maybe Minko had finally confessed?

_She does that from time to time, _Nako quickly replied, _but I think she needs someone to talk to._

_Do you seriously think she'd tell us about her problems?_ Ohana asked. Up to this day she had had to almost force Minko into talking.

_I think she needs someone more than ever. I'm worried about her too._ Nako passed the note before the teacher asked her to come in front of the class and solve a question. Ohana watched her friend. Nako was normally shy and timid but in front of class she forgot her shyness. Maybe that was because she didn't have to _see_ anyone.

Ohana glanced at Minko quickly; the raven-haired girl was taking notes as usual. Maybe Minko would talk if she didn't see anyone…?

When Nako returned to her seat after solving hypotenuse of a right triangle successfully, Ohana's message was waiting for her.

_I think I know how to get her open up. I'll fest it up (^_^)_


End file.
